Insulating material and process of making the same.



' torso treat vulcanized fiber as to render it -more water-repellent andotherwise more JAMES llloOSlBl, 0h N0 1: t1: ISIIPUW'N, PENNSYLVANIA,ASSIGNOR .T'D DIAMOND NPA'JIPE E COMP J We Drag.

To all whom it may concern: I

Beit known that 1, JAMES Mcllnfrosn, a citizen of the United States,residing in Norristown, Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, have inventedInsulating Materials and Processes of Making the Same, of which thefollowin is a specification One 0 ject of my invention is'to rovide asubstance which shall be hard, dura' 1e and waterproof, as well aspossess other qualities fitting it, for use as an electrical insulator,especially in connection with railway tracks.

4 l further desire toprovide a sim le, easily operated meth of preparingt e above noted material whereby it shall be possible suitable thanhitherto for service as a track insulating material. lln cing out myinvention ll employ as my chief raw material, vulcanized orparchmentized fiber in a. green state that is to say, fiber in its acondition except that it is saturated with water and has not been giventhe final drying orheat treat.- ment ordinarily necessary to prepare itfor commercial use. By my process, such green fiber is impregnated w1than om'dizable oil, such as oil or' an equivalent sub- 1|. WI- stance, byreplacing the water-in it by an organic solvent such as acetone, by it aing it in a bath of the same, for a period of time de endent upon itsthichess. For exple, a one-quarter of inch have I require an immersionin the acetone bathor about forty-eight houra a w. r the fiber islacedin' a, bath, of linseed or other oxidize; le oil for a lar periodof time, as a result of which the I solvent is repl by said foil and thefiber while or is found to contain practically no water. The time andmethod of treatment may be varied by varying the temperature of thebath, by emplo 1 mechanical stirrers and by the use of a vacuum. Insome. the green fiber mav lee-subjected to a vacuum inthe oil, withi theresult that the contained a ris removed and re- 1 placed to'a greater or,1

or nnrncuron'r, rnnnsrnvrn, a com a D rnocnee 015 are t: 1:;

tpeciucatlon or hetterr Patent.

1-7 sheets having a thichess of m found to:-

1 nt by said oil.

HON or IIDEZLA- G THE t rattan-a may a, mi,

Application a, January as, rare. berial lt'o. aiaece.

In order to fit the oil-impregnated fiber resulting from the abovetreatment for use as a track insulation, which is usually reguired tohave certain definite shapes, it. is

immersed in hot water or treated by live I steam, as a result at whichit becomes rela-;

tively pliable, so that it maybe molded, bent or shaped by pressure, orheat and pressure. lhe oil is then slowly oxidized by heat treatmentuntil it becomes semisolid, such treatment usuall requiring from twelveto thirty-six hours, epending on the thickness of the terial.

As a result of this treatment the fiber is given a shape or form' whichit will perlib manently retain, and it is found to be hard,

tough and practically waterproof, being incapable of absorbinappreciable amounts of water and not su ject to inj by the weather. Itis noted that the heat treatment oxidizes the oil so that it is changedto a solid lllm without in any-way ectmg the parchmentized fiber in wcontained.

I claim;-

which consists in im reg- "1111 at lllllldtll, with ,0? db reating saidfiber to rend r a 5103 1; all all mm u ecting t to anoxidizing treatmentto harden itand solidity said oleaginous material,

repellmg substance in liquid lormtreating.

the fiber to render it flexible; giving the fiber a predete ed shape;and thereafter hardening it and solidifyingthe water resubstancetherein. F

l. a new article of manufacture, a

ch said tire" 2. The method which consists in, impreghard oldedwater-proof body consisting of pamhmentized fiber uniformly impregnatedwith om'dized oil; T In witness whereof ll a my sign J MolNTUSH.

ature.

ice

